Apple has been granted a patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the iconic glass cube of the Fifth Avenue Apple Store.
The glass cube design, which received involvement from late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, is now a patented ornamental building design.
The patent only contains one claim, "The ornamental design for a building, as shown and described."
The patent, filed in October 2012 but was only granted this week, is for the latest design of the glass cube. A redesign back in 2011 gave the structure its cleaner look, now using fewer glass panes compared to the 90 glass panes that it used when it was originally built in 2006. The current structure now only uses 15 glass panes.
Apple spent about $6.7 million into the 2011 redesign for the iconic structure that greets customers at Apple's flagship store in New York City.
There are seven inventors to which the glass cube structure is credited to, one of which is Jobs. The others are Peter Bohlin, Karl Backus, Benjamin Fay, Robert Bridger, James O'Callaghan and former retail head Ron Johnson.
The patent for the glass cube structure is for a period of 14 years.
The popularity of Apple's glass cube design has made it one of the most photographed structures in New York City. It has also been the inspiration for other similar projects by Apple, including the entrance to the company's megastore in Shanghai which opened in 2010.
The Shanghai store has a similar glass structure at its entrance. However, instead of a cube, the structure in Shanghai is cylindrical, containing a staircase enclosed within the glass. Apple received the patent for this design last year.
Apple's acquisition of a patent for its flagship store comes just before the company is set to announce the latest edition of its flagship product. Media outlets have received invitations from Apple regarding an event that the company is holding on Sept. 9, with the invitation only featuring a white Apple logo and the words "Wish we could say more" to accompany the date.
All rumors point to the event being the one where Apple will showcase the final version of the iOS 8 mobile operating system and the iPhone 6, which is said to be released in two models of different screen sizes.
Apple may also be unveiling the company's foray into the wearable technology market with the long-rumored iWatch device.
Apple will be holding the event at the Flint Center for the Performing Arts at the De Anza College in Cupertino. Apple is also said to be building a large structure so that the event will be able to hold a bigger audience compared to past announcement events made by the company.
